At the age of 82, playing soccer as a hobby is generally out of the question, but Ramon Fabregas isn't like most 82-year-olds.

He plays in an over-50 soccer league every Sunday at North Colonie Soccer Complex, in addition to working a full-time job as a cardiologist for Albany Associates in Cardiology.

He's the oldest participant by quite a few years, and while he can't move quite as well as he did in his youth, his soccer IQ is just as sharp.

On the pitch he patrols the midfield as if it's his personal territory. He is also one of the most vocal guys among the bunch, constantly yelling things like "Control it!" "Quick, quick!" and "Use him!" while also giving encouragement whenever a teammate makes a mistake.

In the hour-and-a-half or so he was out there, he converted at least 15 perfect lead passes and added an assist. A big reason why he's able to have so much success is due to his excellent vision. Every time he makes a first touch on the ball, he immediately picks his head up and scopes the field, before making the pass. It's as if he's doing equations in his head to decide where's the best spot to place the ball before pulling the trigger

"He can see the field better than a 25-year-old," said George Sideris, who's a friend of Fabregas. "He always knows where to put the ball."

Fabregas began playing soccer at the age of 5, in his hometown of Parana, Argentina. He says he grew up during "strange times" because his country was boycotted and isolated by the rest of the world for deciding not to declare war until the very end of World War II. As a result, he and his peers were left relatively poor.

Soccer provided them with an escape.

"It was the sport of the poor people," Fabregas said. "The only thing you needed was a ball."

He played throughout his childhood, and by the age of 17 he was competing in the highest division of the Parana city league. While he obviously had some skill, his father wanted him to pursue a different career path.

"He was totally against me playing because he thought that it would distract my studying," he said. "He said, 'You will be a better doctor than a soccer player. They will be a dime a dozen like you' and he was probably right."

He took the advice, and eventually received his medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires Medical School in Argentina, before heading to the States in 1957 for further training before he was declared a certified doctor.

Fourteen grandchildren later, it's clear he's gotten all that he could ever want out of life.

Yet, that hasn't stopped him from giving it his all with guys 20 and 30 years younger.

"At this point soccer to me is an entertainment, and a distraction and socialization because I get to see nice people and talk to them," he said. "It's good for friendships and it's good for exercise, and it takes sunlight which is the only thing that's not taxed in New York."

His presence on the pitch is beneficial to more than just himself. Everyone at the Complex seemed to be impacted by him in one way or another. When the guys knew Fabregas would be interviewed, they immediately started talking about how much he's taught them about the game.

I asked Fabregas if he could point to something specific that he's taught — at which point it became clear that he was truly an expert on the game. Here's one bit he told me regarding lead passes: "You have to calculate the triangulation of somebody that's running so you have to move the ball a certain speed ahead of them so by the time the ball gets there, he's there. So you play so-called 'the space' and that's the most difficult thing to acquire because everything is moving. The more still you are the easier it is to stop the game and the opponent."

That just scratches the surface.

Because of this mental and physical aptitude for the game at his age, individuals are constantly amazed. Fabregas is aware of this, and believes that others would be able to replicate his feats, with just a few stipulations:

"You have to be in reasonable shape, normal (blood) pressure, good lungs, good kidneys," he said, "and be happy that you're alive, at my age, and enjoy life. Life is a gift; I didn't ask to be made. We're just created by our parents and I accept whatever destiny it's going to give me."

Even at 82, he has no intention of stopping anytime soon, because he doesn't feel how his body is "supposed to" at his age. When asked about the possibility of playing at 90, he didn't even flinch.

His desire to play week after week is unwavering too.

After the games were finished up, one of the members approached the nearby bleachers, where Fabregas and the rest of the players were gathering their things. He asked the crowd "Who's going to be here for sure next Sunday?"

All of a sudden, there were a few indecisive "maybes" before Fabregas spoke up.